After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

The siren of the ambulance faded into the distance and eventually disappeared. Wang Qiang inside was finished. The arrogance of the joint inspection team vanished along with it.

The Jinshuiwan project construction site was unusually quiet.

Deputy Team Leader Zhang, who is now nominally in charge, is leading a group of listless law enforcement officers, who are obediently wearing red armbands that read "Civilized Construction Supervision Volunteer," aimlessly wandering around the construction site.

They've lost all their ambition.

The atmosphere was quite the opposite in the offices on the second floor of the command post.

"Director, you didn't see it, but when Wang Qiang was carried onto the vehicle, his face turned completely white. I reckon he never wants to see a stretcher again in his life." Guo Xiaojun was excitedly reporting the situation, his words full of relief after the matter was resolved and his admiration for Chen Pingfang.

"Now those guys are completely obedient, all of them are meek and subdued, and they wouldn't dare go west if you told them to go east."

"You're so capable, Director. Just like that, they've been ruined because of their work-related injuries."

The core members in the office chatted amongst themselves, their faces beaming with joy. They all felt that Chen Ping had resolved this major problem in a very clever way.

Everyone thought the matter was over.

Chen Ping listened to everyone's conversation without a smile on his face. He simply looked calmly at the listless volunteers outside the window, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

……

At the same time, in a quiet office of the Yunzhou Municipal Party Committee.

The newly appointed municipal party secretary, Zhou Wenyuan, was leaning back in his chair, looking very relaxed. His desk was clean, without any piles of documents, only a newly delivered report and a cup of steaming pre-Qingming Longjing tea.

The report's title is eye-catching: "Explanation Regarding the Injury of Comrade Wang Qiang, Head of the Joint Inspection Team of the City, While Providing Guidance at the Jinshuiwan Project Site."

Zhou Wenyuan picked up the report, glanced at it, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

The report detailed Wang Qiang's "touching story" of how he disregarded rest, rushed to the front lines, and ultimately collapsed at his post due to a relapse of his back injury caused by overwork.

Zhou Wenyuan was not angry, nor was he surprised at all.

He casually tossed the report aside, as if it were just a useless piece of paper.

"This soft knife... is quite interesting."

He picked up his teacup, blew on it gently, and muttered to himself in a low voice. He saw through Chen Pingfang's scheme at a glance, but he didn't care at all about the fate of Wang Qiang, this pawn.

It's just a dog; if it's ruined, it's ruined.

Zhou Wenyuan didn't touch the red secure phone on the table. He opened a drawer and took out a black personal cell phone from the back, which had no brand name.

The phone's body was very cold, like a black stone.

He skillfully dialed an unsaved number. The call connected immediately, and the other end was quiet, waiting for his orders.

There were no formalities, no preamble.

Zhou Wenyuan's tone was very calm, as if he were just saying that the weather was nice today. He only said five words to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Sever the dragon vein."

"Yes."

A brief response came from the other end of the phone, and the call was immediately disconnected.

The whole process took less than ten seconds.

Zhou Wenyuan put his phone back in the back of the drawer, and the office returned to silence. He picked up his cup of Longjing tea again and sipped it slowly, as if the phone call and the order that could have stirred up such a storm in Yunzhou had never happened.

An unseen killing intent has quietly begun to stir.

The next morning, at the Jinshuiwan Project Command Center.

The joy of yesterday's victory hadn't completely faded when Guo Xiaojun was in his office, holding the latest construction plan, arranging the work for the next phase.

"Comrades, starting today, we will begin pouring C60 high-grade concrete for the core tube. This is the framework of our No. 1 main building. Everyone, stay alert and don't let anything go wrong."

Just then, Guo Xiaojun's phone suddenly rang urgently. It was Lao Zhang from the project's materials department calling.

Guo Xiaojun answered the phone with a smile: "Old Zhang, is this good news? The concrete mixer truck is already at the door!"

The voice on the other end of the phone wasn't good news, but rather the anxious, distorted voice of the materials minister.

"Director Guo, something terrible has happened! Our largest concrete supplier, 'Hongfa Commercial Concrete Plant,' just called us suddenly and said that all their mixing equipment needs emergency maintenance, and they will stop supplying us starting today, with no timeframe in sight."

Guo Xiaojun's smile froze instantly, and his heart skipped a beat: "What? Emergency repairs? This is ridiculous! Where's the contract?"

Before he could finish speaking, the phones of the other people in the office who were in charge of purchasing materials started ringing one after another.

Everyone who finished the call turned deathly pale instantly.

"Guo said that Hongyun Quarry said it failed the environmental inspection and was ordered to suspend production for rectification."

"The transportation permit for Beishan Sand and Gravel Plant has been revoked."

"Changhe commercial concrete mixing plant also reported equipment malfunction..."

One piece of bad news after another sank the hearts of everyone in the command center. Almost all the quarries and commercial concrete plants around Yunzhou that could supply large quantities of building materials to the Jinshuiwan project stopped supplying them at almost the same time, using seemingly legitimate reasons such as "environmental rectification," "equipment maintenance," and "safety inspections."

An invisible knife precisely severed all of the project's material sources.

Guo Xiaojun, holding his phone, felt his hands and feet were ice-cold. He grabbed an urgent summary of messages from the table and rushed into Chen Pingfang's office like a madman.

"Bang!"

The door was kicked open, and Guo Xiaojun's voice changed.

"Director, something terrible has happened! All our supplies of concrete and aggregate have been cut off!"

He slammed a newly compiled inventory list onto Chen Ping's desk, pointing at the glaring numbers on it, his fingers trembling violently with fear and anger.

"Our inventory is only enough... only enough to last two days!"

"The core tube pouring has already begun, and this process absolutely cannot be stopped! If the materials don't keep up in two days, temperature changes will cause irreparable cold joints between the old and new concrete, and the entire completed structure... will be ruined!"

"boom!"

Everyone who followed them into the office felt a buzzing in their heads and gasped in unison.

Chen Pingfang was always very calm, and his expression never changed no matter what happened. But when he heard the crucial deadline of "two days," his face changed for the first time.

It was a seriousness I had never felt before.

He suddenly stood up from his chair, strode to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the construction site where workers were busy at work. The workers there were unaware that danger was about to strike.

Chen Pingfang's gaze was as sharp as a knife.

Everyone in the command center understood. This attack was different from Wang Qiang's small-scale skirmishes; this was a direct attempt to sever the project's foundation, a fatal blow from a higher level that left no way out.

The joy and relief I felt from beating Wang Qiang a few days ago vanished in an instant.

Chen Ping silently stared out the window, his mind immediately linking Wang Qiang's failure with the sudden supply disruption.

He instantly understood the true meaning of "severing the dragon vein" in that phone call.

The project's "dragon vein" is not about feng shui or luck.

It is steel bars and cement that are the lifeline of materials supporting this huge project as it grows taller day by day.

The enemy has emerged from the shadows.

He's no longer going to play by the rules; he's just flipping the table.

The command post was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath, staring at Chen Pingfang's ramrod-straight back, waiting for him to speak.

An unprecedented and immense pressure, like dark clouds pressing down on the city, loomed over Jinshui Bay.